An apparatus for manufacturing the three-dimensional shaped object is called a “3D-Printer” With such manufacturing apparatus, a powder material such as inorganic powder (e.g., metal powder) and organic powder (e.g., resin powder) is irradiated with a directional light beam (e.g., laser beam) having a desired energy. The irradiation of the powder material with the light beam allows a sintering of the material or a melting and subsequent solidification of the material, and thereby forming a solidified layer. The formations of the solidified layers eventually leads to a provision of the three-dimensional shaped object with a plurality of the solidified layers being stacked with each other. See “PATENT DOCUMENT 1” listed below, for example.
With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a manufacturing method of the three-dimensional shaped object by the manufacturing apparatus will be described. The three-dimensional shaped object may be referred to simply as “shaped object” in the following description.
As shown in FIG. 6, the manufacturing apparatus performs a forming of a solidified layer 102 by irradiating a powder layer 101 made of powder material with a laser beam L, and thereby allowing a sintering of the powder material or a melting and subsequent solidification of the powder material. Subsequently, the manufacturing apparatus performs a forming of a new solidified layer 102 by newly forming a powder layer 101 on the resultant solidified layer 102, followed by similar irradiation of the new powder layer with the laser beam L. The repetition of the forming of the solidified layer makes it possible for the solidified layers 102 to be stacked with each other. In this way, the three-dimensional shaped object can be produced by the manufacturing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 7, the manufacturing apparatus 110 of the three-dimensional shaped object conventionally has a chamber 111 full of an inert gas for the purpose of preventing an oxidation of the shaped object. Within the chamber 111, the sintering of the powder material, or the melting and subsequent solidification of the powder material is performed. The manufacturing apparatus is equipped with a powder layer former (e.g., a squeegee blade 112) and a base plate 113 within the chamber 111. With the powder layer former, the powder layer 101 is formed through a supply of the powder material. The powder layer 101 and the solidified layer are formed on the base plate 113. Outside the chamber 111, there is a laser-beam irradiator 114. With the laser-beam L emitted from the laser-beam irradiator 114, the predetermined portion of the powder layer 101 is irradiated via a transmission window 115 provided in a ceiling of the chamber 111. As such, the laser-beam L is transmitted through the transmission window 115 into the chamber 111.